Aftertaste
by Okumura Rin
Summary: Trying to comprehend with the feeling of having failed to protect his son, Stoic is left with an empty victory and unanswered anger. But when offered a second chance to save his son, the question remains if he is able to.
1. Chapter 1

**Aftertaste**

Chapter 1

* * *

He knew from the moment he was born, his son had been different. Hiccup, unlike him, hadn't been born a dragon slayer, worse even, he was the total opposite. He had been a small baby, slightly chubby, but small, and it seemed like he never outgrew those years, arms just as fragile as ever, not even enough strength to lift a shield.

And then there was the other problem, his nagging curiosity. He may not have the energy to keep himself running all day, but his brain would never run out of ideas, questioning everything he laid eyes one. It was a trait he hadn't inherited from him, like most of them, sadly.

But a brain he had, he himself sometimes stood flabbergasted when his son would make another amazing machine to enlighten the heavy task of fighting those vicious reptiles, _if _it would work at least. Hiccup would sometimes show him his blueprints, explaining where he had miscalculated, trying to persuade him into giving him another change to prove himself. But he had done enough of that, shaming both their names endangering enough lives.

And even as he forbid him of setting foot on the battlefield, he would never listen. He couldn't understand his disobedience, for when he was young, and his father had still been alive, did he not dare to question his word, for his father was always right.

And again his son had ignored him, claiming to have shot a Night Fury none the less, after, of course, he'd been chased down by a Nightmare, screaming as he did. Sometimes he made him just want to groan. He had told him to arrange a search party and look down the woods, but he just send him to his room, exhaustion staining his voice. But he knew Hiccup, and once he set his mind on something, there was no turning back. He was as stubborn as every other Viking in Berk. And so he watched him closely, a last attempt to assure his safety.

And he was right, the next day at dawn, Hiccup left ever so quietly, little notebook clammed against his chest, nervous eyes shifting around the room before sneaking out of the wooden house. Stoic cursed inwardly, grunting as he made his ways out of the shadows, somewhere he still had hoped for Hiccup to have listened, but sadly he wasn't surprised.

He grabbed his axe, heaving the heavy metal around his shoulder, releasing a grunt as his legs bent slightly under the weight. Stoic envied his father, he had never really have to worry about anything but the present, for he had him to succeed him. But he, with his son the way he was, not a single day was spared without him worrying about the village's future, what didn't look all too bright with the sudden increase of dragon attacks. They already had lost too much in the fiery blaze of yesterday, and even through the people of Berk were always so eager to fight, he wouldn't dare to imagine the consequences of another wave fire breathing lizards. And he wasn't getting any younger.

He sighed, following his boy into the woods, he didn't really put any effort in being subtle. But it didn't seem like Hiccup took any notice of him, even when twigs snapped loudly under his fur boots, was he too busy scribbling in little book to notice. It were one of the few mistakes he didn't expect him to make, Hiccup always being so cautious about his surroundings.

After a few hours of stumbling and grumping, it looked like Hiccup had finally given up the fight, hanging his head and releasing a disappointed sigh. But it seemed like Hiccup had kept himself going for just the right amount of time, for when he turned to leave, a branch smacked him right in the face. He himself even winched slightly as Hiccup grasped his eye and hissed in pain. But he was rewarded for his efforts, his eyes falling on one of the toppled trees, looking like something big had crashed into them, like, like a dragon.

And he wasn't the only one who had made the connection, Hiccup's eyes lit up in excitement, taking off as fast as his feet would take him, broad smile playing on his lips.

"Wait, Hiccup!" He called after him, it didn't seem like he heard him. Stoic cursed, if what Hiccup had told was actually _true_, then, then somewhere in these woods a wounded, probably scared and very dangerous Night Fury roamed, ready to lash out to anything that proposed a treat. And in the eyes of a dragon, a Viking formed quite a large treat. He couldn't imagine a more dangerous situation for his son to get himself into.

He should have lifted him by his collar and dragged back down to the village when he had the chance. Stoic ran.

He arrived in time, seeing his son raise a shaking knife above his head, determined expression on his face, yet he somehow seemed to hesitate. The Night Fury, Stoic gasped slightly at its remarkable beauty, laid tied up on the ground, curled up in a ball so it was difficult to guess its actual size. Its strong jaws were shut tightly by the rope that bound it, its tail wagging restlessly, yet its lemon green eyes looked resolute and calm.

The knife came crashing down and Stoic watched breathlessly, he was about to witness his son slay a dragon, but instead he saw the steel blade cut though the rope. _No, don't!_ He wanted to scream, to yell at him to run, how could he be so dense.

And the dragon clearly wasn't stupid itself and as soon as he got the robes loosened and started to drop, did he slid away underneath them, almost like a snake before pinning down his son. Hiccup cried out shocked, looking in fear as the beast released a fierce roar, showing off it shark white fangs. Another scream ripped through the air as the dragon's claws sunk away in his skin.

This was bad, he reached for his axe, gripping onto the handle tightly before joining the yelling with a loud battle cry. He threw the chunk of metal at the large reptile, who turned his head just in time see the incoming axe, but wasn't given enough time to dodge. It let out another ear-piercing scream as the metal cut through its black leather skin, releasing his son as it backed away, hissing intimidating.

Stoic sprinted forward, giving a quick glance at Hiccup who looked wide eyed as the situation unfolded itself, his breathing ragged. He focused on the dragon again, Viking instincts kicking in and giving him the extra push to grab a hold on his weapon. The dragon used its strong tail to send him flying, also pulling out the large axe who Stoic still had a hold on. Blood spouted out of the large cut on its shoulder, it screeched in pain. Stoic couldn't help but smile.

His ability to fly was short-lived as he connected with the stone wall, knocking the air out of his lungs. He coughed, blood trickled down his chin as the world seemed to spin around him, he felt a strange kind of seasick. He took in a shakily breath, pulling himself off the ground, managing to avoid a tail send his way who was followed a claw how he tried to block, only to realize he hadn't brought his shield with him. He suppressed a cry as the claws slashed through his skin and into his muscle, he instantly felt his finger go numb. He needed to get his axe, quickly.

He leaped under its leg and find a way around its large frame, but the dragon had noticed. Reaching out for his axe, he grabbed it just time to dodge away under a wave of purple fire, the stench of burned hair tickled his nose. But the purple inferno was just a diversion, soon he saw the Night fury launching itself at him, flapping its wings to boost up its speed, tackling him down, only making his headache worse.

He tried to push it off of him, but obviously his opponent was stronger, wrapping its large wings around him to keep him in place. It opened it jaws as he could feel the warmth sweep off the purple glow that burned in the back of its throat.

He struggled, turning and twisting in its iron grip, but there wasn't even enough space to move his head, let alone fight off a dragon. He had to find a way out.

"Dad"

The dragon looked up, its expression somewhat softened as he saw Hiccup pull himself up on the stone wand, knees shaking, looking like he was about to fall over any moment. A chance appeared, and Stoic wasn't going to let it slid through his fingers.

He pulled himself out of the dragon's weakened grip, grabbing his axe while it still was distracted and tearing it at its wing, ripping its skin until it hit bone. It screamed furiously, lashing out but only making the torn wing tear more, throwing around with its blood. He delivered it another hit square on the head with the tip of his axe, using enough force to knock out the giant reptile, the earth quavered as it fell to the ground. He looked down the damaged wing, it wouldn't be able to fly anymore, and a dragon unable to fly, was a dragon left to die. He had won, even if his victory wasn't known right away, it couldn't be any sweeter.

He rushed over to his son, leaving behind the unconscious Night Fury.

"Dad"

Hiccup looked scared, looking up to see his father's dark glare look down on him, he swallowed nervously, cracking a small smile. Stoic stern look stayed and soon Hiccup's apologetic smile fell as well.

"For the love of Odin, Hiccup, what the hell were you thinking!" Hiccup flinched, eyes quickly shifting away from his, clearing his throat nervously.

"Dad, I – I knew what I hit, I had to check, to see and - and I was right"

"Well, yeah, clearly, I just spend my morning wrestling the damn thing!" He exclaimed angered "And you had it for Odin's sake, how could you even think, _think _that a dragon would show mercy to you, a _Viking_!"

"I just thought that - " Hiccup tried to defend himself, but got interrupted.

"No, that's just it, you _didn't _think!" Stoic scolded. Hiccup looked away, guilty. Some time passed, Stoic released a tired sigh, breaking unnerving silence "Come, let me get a look at those injuries of yours" He offered finally, softening his posture a bit as he gestured him to take off his shirt.

"Dad, I rather not" Hiccup insisted, but Stoic paid him no attention, ripping open his already torn shirt, inspecting the large gashes inflicted on his chest. A slight blush crept up Hiccup's cheeks.

Stoic traced a hand over the claws marks, it looked only the upper layer of the skin was damaged, and judging from the lack of response from his son, had he lost the feeling around the wound area. He guessed cause of the dragon's venom, but nothing lethal, he would know, he spoke out of experience. That didn't mean, however, that he would be up and running the next , he would have to clean the gashes as soon as possible, bandage it up and hope it wouldn't infect. And a fever probably couldn't be avoided, he sighed, it seemed like he was about to play nurse for a couple days.

"Um dad" Hiccup cut in unsure, breaking his concentration as he began to struggle slightly. Stoic grunted irritated.

"You stay still and stop whining, you're a Viking, get used to a little pain" He told him, slightly annoyed as he held him still. Apparently Hiccup wasn't feeling as numb as he thought he would be, but that was a good sign, meaning he probably didn't get that much poison into his system. Maybe things were looking up a bit.

"No dad, you – you have to, the – oh no, dad we have to get away from here!" Hiccup yelled, panic raising in his voice as he tried to twist his way out of his firm grip, eyes wide in terror. It seemed like he was having a panic attack, probably only now realizing the dangerous situation he had found himself in, he thought. He could only hope that he for once would learn from him mistakes.

But perhaps he should have listened, maybe even looked around for what caused his son to be so upset all of a sudden, maybe he could have noticed the growing shadow creeping up on them, or even the heavy breathing on the background. Maybe he still would have been able to save him, but he did none of those.

"Dad!"

Apparently the Night Fury hadn't been as unconscious as he thought it was, the little blow on the head had only managed to knock the dragon out for as long as it did, but not long enough. And by the gods, did he not expect this to happen.

It seemed so big, overlapping the sun, leaving only a silhouette with its blazing green eyes, twin fire burning in the sudden darkness, it mouth spread wide, he could feel its warm breath brush against his face as it dived in. But it wasn't him it ended up setting its teeth in, on the contrary.

Were Hiccup suddenly found the strength was a mystery to him, but somehow he managed to push him aside with those tiny little arms of his, but he did, and he wished he never did. And then that sickening crunch, the moment the whole world just stopped and turned to ashes. He watched as those enormous teeth sunk away his chest, he was sure he could hear the sternum break under the pressure among of probably a million other bones. Yet Hiccup didn´t even scream as he was lifted off the ground, feet dangling numbly underneath him as the dragon's saliva melted with him blood and traveled throughout his bloodstream, not even as his lung got punctured filled and itself with his blood. Just silence, utter silence.

And then something snapped, the sound of shattered glass clattering to the ground as he felt something break along with it. He cried.

A cry full of rage and raw emotion, its pure power shaking awake the millions of birds asleep in their save nests, the clatter of their wings echoing away on the background as the fled from the battlefield. Wood cut in his palm, drawing blood which slowly trickled down his hand, but the grip upon his weapon never lessened. He could feel this rage boil up inside him, providing him the strength to bring himself to face the monster that held his son who coughed helplessly in its hold.

He threw himself at it, slamming his axe in it neck, ripping out it and bringing down his axe a second time, its sharp blade cutting through its flesh like butter. The beast howled, releasing his son who Stoic caught before he even managed to fall to the ground, Hiccup whimpered softly. Stoic glared, his eyes filled with hatred towards the dragon who by now seemed to back away slightly, blood poured out of its wounds as it cried pitifully with every step, yet he held no pity for the suffering animal.

And so it ran, it surprised him how fast the beast still managed to run as it struggled to climb up the canyon, failing several times in the progress before eventually making it to the top. It hesitated, he could see its slited eyes glance back before turning and leaving, tail last to disappear into the forest with a quick swipe, blending in with the dark of the trees. Stoic felt a strong desire to chase after it, to release his wrath and make it suffer even more before turning to throw it in the fiery pits of hell. How dared it to cut short their battle like that, its cowardness angered him to no end.

But he stayed, he couldn't just abound his son, whose clouded, half lidded eyes looked up at him with such fear it made him anxious himself. His lips had turned blue and skin pale as death, the familiar scene sickened him to the stomach. He wrapped his arms around him, pulling him into a hug before lifting him off the ground, his legs almost gave away underneath him, but regained his balance. Murmuring a messy apology, he stumbled off to the opposite direction the dragon had taken off, but Hiccup seemed to be too far gone to even respond.

He restrained a sob, silent tears rolled down his cheeks, but he didn't bother to whip them away, bitter aftertaste staining his mouth.

* * *

**I changed some of the HTTYD facts about dragons, like how they all are poisonous, while a scratch of its claw causes paralyzation and a bite is lethal. Am planning on continuing the next chapter soon, but school is busy and requires a lot of my time, so maybe it's going to take a while.**

**And a Beta would be greatly appreciated, so if anybody's out there and looking to help, here I am.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

* * *

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. He was known for always having a solution. It didn't matter what the problem was or about, he knew what to do, and he knew how to help. But now, seeing his best friend clutching onto the limb body of his son, crying out desperately for help while he himself looked like he was about to collapse, he did not. For once in a long time, did he not know how to react. It was… unsettling to say the least.

He had to do something, but was scared to make matters worse as he finally noticed the amount of blood soaking their clothing; it frightened him not to know who it belonged to. His stomach turned as he saw the thick trail of red following up behind them, seeming to go on to no end. He hadn't even known the human body possessed such amounts of blood.

He tried to say something, to comfort him and bring some relieve into the situation, or even to break the silent he felt eating him alive. But he failed, his voice twisting itself into some kind of strangled choke.

At least he got his attention, Stoic slowly lifted up his head. A pair of teary eyes looked up at him while he somehow managed to straighten up his face, lips pressed into a thin line. And somewhere underneath that thick layer of blood, dirt and tears, did he see Stoic, not Stoic the Vast or even Stoic the Drinking Buddy, but Stoic the Father, a father who feared for his son's life.

"Save him, save Hiccup" The words were barley a whisper, yet he found himself nod obediently nonetheless. Stoic smiled relieved, releasing a long breathe while he slowly unfolded his arms, revealing Hiccup's hurt form, teeth mark clearly visible on his fire red skin.

He felt his blood run cold, he could recognize those wounds where ever he went, he'd been bitten himself twice and had to cut of both his limb to keep the poison from spreading, and he had been lucky. But they'd gotten him good, the little lad, he was surprised he managed to stay alive this long, but he clearly wasn't going to be much longer. He hesitantly took over the unconscious child.

He shuddered, feeling the half dried blood slid through his fingers like syrup, sticking to them. He had seen a lot of people die in battle, but a child was something he never could get used to.

He didn't know what to do, standing frozen as he began to feel the weight Hiccup took with him press upon his shoulder. He felt so heavy. This was Hiccup, his Hiccup, whose sarcastic jokes always seemed to cheer him up and filled up the void of the lonely job of a single blacksmith. The thought of him dying seemed out of place in his image of the smugly grinning kid.

"Thank you… Gobber"

He hadn't noticed Stoic had fallen unconscious until the village erupted into a panicking screaming.

* * *

Stoic took in a large breath, feeling the cold air run through his lungs, seeming to clear his head from any unwanted thoughts.

He pushed himself up on the kitchen table, toppling over a chair in the progress, but didn't bother to pick it up after. His arm still remained tightly wrapped in bandages, sling pressing softly upon his neck yet he couldn't feel a single thing from his shoulder. He hated it. He stumbled over to the sink, leaning his head in his hands, he was cold all over. Maybe some alcohol could warm him up a bit.

He reached out for a bottle of wine and poured himself a large glass, empting the contents in one loud gulp. He could feel the liquid burn in his throat, spreading its warmth throughout his body and numbing his brain, something nice for a change.

A soft groan sounded on the background.

He looked up, turning around to see Hiccup struggle underneath the seats, skin pale and looking like he could sink away in the white of his cushion without him ever knowing. He walked over to the bed, sitting down before grabbing a hold of his son's hand, squeezing it softly in an attempt to ease his troubled mind. Hiccup didn't squeeze back. Somewhere he felt disappointed.

He couldn't keep from mind from how skinny he looked. Hiccup never was known for being buff, but seeing his cheekbone jut out slightly while his eyes seemed to sink away only further into his eye sockets just felt so wrong. But he was too scared to force feed him, afraid he would choke him in the amount of food and water he would shove down his throat. But the other hand, he couldn't just let him die of dehydration, now could he? And he wasn't sure the little water he gave him was enough to sustain him for any longer.

He was worried.

He couldn't keep himself from moving, shifting restlessly in the chair he forced himself to sit down in. A hand hovered above the bandage that pushed close the wounds on his son's chest, fingertips brushing gently over the skin that remained exposed, black and blue bruise creeping away under the cotton. He was supposed to believe it all was okay, normal, but seeing how he was only getting worse he began to doubt it. But there was nothing he could do to help, and he hated it.

He would never forget his guilt, the hollow feeling from the lack of closure that kept urging him to take action, kill the beast whose attack had resulted in the silent slumber of his son. But standing where he stood, above the dragon who looked up at him with those big eyes filled only with fear, he found himself unable to. And he felt so angry, so stupid for pitting that damned animal. He shouldn't have, not with _this _as the result.

A caressing hand ran through Hiccup's sweat soaked hair. He couldn't just sit here. Every fiber in his body screamed at him to do at least something, anything, just to matter. He couldn't stand the helplessness.

"I'm going out for a bit." He stated, "Don't you go anywhere when I'm gone." He didn't know what he was waiting for. A response maybe, but Hiccup was too far gone to hear. He sucked in a breath. Tears stung his eyes, but he quickly wiped them away. Vikings didn't cry.

He easily slipped into his boots, grabbed his coat and turned to leave "I'll be off then…" He said, leaving Hiccup, who remained motionless. Perhaps Gothi could help, he could only hope.

* * *

It was strange. He hadn't expected to live. He even thought he felt himself die back there, so it wasn't over-exaggerating for him to be surprised that he really was alive.

He didn't know how much time had passed; he didn't really care, still trying to comprehend the fact that he was actually alive. He sucked in a breath, groaning. His head felt like it was about to explode, and his whole body was aching. He shifted uncomfortably under his sheets, hissing under his breath as he felt his sore joints protest against him, finally managing to lift himself out of the soft embrace of his cushion.

Almost drifting off in unconsciousness again, only to be shaken awake by some obnoxious villager. He quickly wiped away some drool that threatened to drip down his mouth, shaking away the mist that clouded his mind.

He noticed his arm hanging limply to his side. He tried to move it, but a sharp pain shot through his arm. He hissed in pain, eyes burning. He started coughing. His lungs were sore and hurting, and his throat as dry as sandpaper, but he managed to calm down a bit.

His teary vision fell on a glass of water standing on the small table next to his bed, reaching out one shaking hand he only managed to knock it over, water soaking the dirty ground. Perfect.

"Dad?" He rasped hoarsely, but the house remained dead silent. He picked up the glass, hissing as he felt his sore joints protest as he stretched "Dad?" Throwing off his sheets, he carefully placed his feet on the ground. He felt the cold seep into bones and nestle into his being, he shuddered. He looked around the room, noticing the soft sputtering of the fireplace, whose warm light shone brightly on the wooden floor he use to play on, but his father was nowhere to be seen.

He lifted himself off of his bed, weight pressing on his legs. He almost fell down again, legs even too weak to support his weight pulled himself up again. A breath hitched in his throat as he saw how skinny he had become, how his clothes hanged loosely around his small figure, skeleton limbs sticking out under his pants and the way his tendons seemed to move like snakes under his skin. How long had it been since he had a decent meal? His stomach cramped, feeling it rumble as it mounded lowly. Apparently quite some time already.

Snatching some food from the kitchen, he sunk back into a chair, letting his legs rest and savoring sour taste of apple. He should have been dead, he thought, chewing thoughtfully, he should have been. He had looked death in the face and walked away. A victory, in some way or another, something he could brag about, finally a scar _he _could show off. Yet he didn't like it.

He felt the bandage, tightly wrapped and pressing on his skin, uncomfortably. It itched too.

He sighed, the dragon had attacked him. He didn't really know what to have expected, obviously not it fangs in his chest, maybe gratefulness? For the love of Odin, how come he didn't realize how stupid that sounded when he was actually cutting those ropes loose, it was an animal, he couldn't even blame it for acting out of instinct. Stupid. He had been lucky his father been there to save him. Where was his dad anyway?

He looked around the small kitchen, still no sign of life. He shivered, still cold too. He wrapped a blanket around his small frame, pushing himself out of the comfortable chair that he could swear was begging him to sit back down. He ignored its pleas, even if his body agreed with the chair, complaining with every movement. He growled.

He slipped into his boots, feeling the cold leather against his skin and warm fur around his shoulders. Throwing open the door, he felt the low sun shine upon him, cold air wrapping around him. Shielding off his eyes, he looked down the people of Berk who continued whatever they were doing undisturbed. The ones that did notice him looked up with slight surprise, flashing him a quick smile and returning to their lives. He waved at them meekly.

The skies were a dark grey, clouds filled with rain floating above, threatening to spill. He shuddered, marching steady ahead through the crowd, determined to find his father. His legs hurt, but also felt a little numb, like he wasn't really walking himself, more like sweeping across the ground.

"Have you seen my father?"

He would have been dead if it weren't for his dad. He had seen his dad in action before, loads of times, but never like that. He had seen his father scared, an emotion he thought his dad didn't even possess. Apparently not. Which made him only feel all the more guilty.

He had seen the injury, though maybe his dad thought he wouldn't have noticed, too wrapped up in his own little world. But he wasn't stupid, never was, and seeing his arm tainted in red... He knew, and it was all his fault. It was his stupid idea to begin with, to free a fire breathing lizard. What was he thinking? He wasn't a Viking, he wasn't even a good blacksmith apprentice. The most he could do was carry around a bunch of coals and some metal, and even at that he failed miserably. A complete and utter failure. He sighed, depressed. Born a Hiccup, die a Hiccup, it was a fate even he couldn't escape.

Why was he looking for his father anyway, it wasn't like he wouldn't be home soon. He just wanted to apologize. But he was exhausted, and waiting home didn't seem that terrible when he thought about it, considering how tired he was. Oh who was he kidding, he was drained, and he hadn't even managed to walk that far.

He turned around, bumping face forward into someone else. He hissed, grabbing his nose protectively, glaring up only to meet deep blue look back. Astrid.

"Hiccup?" _Fuck…_

"H – hey there, Astrid" He stammered, awkwardly.

"Wait, you're awake?" He could see confusion, eyes darting around wildly.

"Uhm, yeah, I guess so" He rasped hoarsely, rubbing his arm uncomfortably. She looked furious, eyes blazing and hands balled into fists, knuckles white. He watched as she raised her fist, knowing exactly what she was about to do happen, but too dumfounded to move out of the way.

WHAM

Her fist connected with his jaw, knuckles digging into his face, something snapped. He lost balance, legs giving in underneath him , making him sink to his knees. He looked up at Astrid dumbfounded.

"Do you have any idea how worried I was, and now you just turn up being like all alright, like nothing happened!" He felt bad for making her cry, seeing the stream of tears flow down freely made his heart ache, he cluttered his chest. His head felt heavy, dull, while slowly an uncomfortable warmth feeling filling his skull. Something wasn't right.

He coughed, spitting out one of his teeth. He looked at the small piece of ivory, feeling the gap between his teeth, the taste of metal filled his mouth. She punched out one of his teeth, she really did punch out his tooth…

He deserved it, really. Not that he really wanted to miss one of his teeth, it quite hurt even, but he deserved it, for making her worry. But it was really starting to hurt now, as the numbness ebbed away, leaving only the hot stabbing pain that cut through his brain.

His shoulder also wasn't itching anymore, it was burning, like hot fire clawing at his skin. He gripped his shoulder, blood felt like lava through his veins, eating at his insides. His windpipe closed itself off, making his gasp for air as he clawed at his throat desperately. Tears leaked from his eyes, the world was spinning around him. It made his stomach twist and turn, and washed out his already raw throat with a wave of acid.

He fell, head bouncing back as it hit the dirt, making his headache only so much worse. Pain shocked his nerves, making his body spasm violently against his will, letting his body slam against the cold ground for him to enjoy the pain even more.

He tried, he really did, but his body refused to listen even the tiniest bit, leaving him to look up at nothing but the hot burning sun, Astrid's panicking screaming calling in the back of his head. He wanted it to end.

* * *

"Hiccup." He didn't know if he was supposed to be furious or relieved, maybe both, maybe neither, he didn't care. His son was okay, save in the arms of Astrid who he held on to half-conscious.

"I'm so sorry Chief, he was just – I was like, I don't know, he just fell, I didn't mean to, he just fell and started doing all these, things… I'm really, really sorry. I didn't mean to, I – I really didn't mean to" Astrid large blue eyes looked at him desperate and panicking, face red and hair wild. Hiccup hung weakly in her arm, face drained from color and eyes looking ahead of him dully. He lifted his head slightly, green orbs unfocused as he smiled faintly.

"Hi, dad." Hiccup's distant voice greeted.

Stoic gritted his teeth, angered as he took his son out of the frightened girl's hands, completely ignoring her as he used his one good arm to lift him in the house. He carried him to the sofa, gently laying him down the cushions.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, forcing himself.

"Tired." The response came, laughing softly, only to end up in a fit of coughing, tears building in his eyes.

"Is he, is he going to be okay?" Astrid asked carefully from behind, looking over his shoulder in fear and slight curiosity. Hiccup was breathing heavily, chest rising and falling in long heaves, pale skin soaked in sweat and hot to the touch. He was burning up.

"Yeah, he's alright, he's alright." He murmured lowly, throwing away his son's coat and hastily ripping open his shirt, glaring hatefully at the red that stained the bandage covering the upper part of his chest. Dark red blood caked to his skin, forming a large curst sticking to the bandage. Hiccup hissed lowly as Stoic picked away at the bandage, trying to restrain himself from ripping it off in one clean swipe, eager to determine the damage.

And again he couldn't keep his anger contained, growling annoyed, he just had to wake at the exact moment he had gone out for a bit, only to get a small bottle of herbal cream. He hoped it was worth the trouble. He had been lucky to begin with, being spared his son's life, and he wasn't planning on testing his luck again anytime soon, even if Hiccup seemed so eager to do so himself.

"Sorry." Hiccup murmured softly, sensing his father's frustration, he looked over at Astrid. "Sorry." he repeated.

The bandage finally let loose, leaving Stoic to roll up the last bit old cotton, but instead of seeing a reopened wound, he saw something entirely different.

"Is it bad?" Astrid asked scared from behind, watching the man lean over his son, casting a shadow over Hiccup who she could barely get a glimpse of. She was terrified, and even as she tried, she couldn't keep it from showing. She was shaking.

"Out." Stoic's stern voice sounded. Astrid flinched.

"I – I" She stammered, only to be cut off by Stoic's ice cold voice yet again.

"OUT, NOW!"

She left. Even though he never looked up to actually see her walk out through the door, her footsteps echoing away in the distance enough to indicate her presence to be gone, leaving the room in silent. The atmosphere was heavy, cold wind blowing and swallowing the warmth whole.

Stoic could only stare, eyes glued to his son's chest, blood still making its way to the surface, black scales cutting through his dark tinned skin, glimmering darkly. They were scales. He wanted to cry and scream at the same time.

* * *

**First of all, I want to thank my new beta, Annabeth The Unicorn. I'm so grateful, I can't thank you enough. You're so amazing, preventing me from making so many mistakes, some obvious, some really sneaky. **

**But sorry it took so long y'all, I was really, no but really busy with school. But I finished, and am going to start the next chapter right away. **

**Hope you guys like dark angsty stuff, cause I'm planning on making this story really dark and angsty and stuff. Be prepared. **

**I couldn't quite get some stuff right, other stuff just fit so perfectly.**

**Another special thanks to annoying anon, and of course Annabeth for previewing and all the other people who faved and all. Stay tune!**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

* * *

A tongue ran across his teeth, it didn't feel right. Something was lacking, this gaping hole glaring back at him between a set of teeth. Hiccup never had been that keen on his rather large front teeth, it being a subject he used to get picked on a lot, but having only one absurdly large tooth didn't make things look any better.

He bared his teeth, have a better look in his reflection. He must look ridiculous, making faces in a bowl of soup, he_ felt_ ridiculous at least. Sighing, he dipped his spoon into the soup, slurping quietly on the hot liquid, feeling it run across his naked gum. Warm and comforting, yet unfamiliar and unpleasant.

What was he working himself up about anyway? It was just a tooth, nothing much really. Not really.

He shifted slowly underneath the covers, feeling the soft wool brush against his skin. It tickled, yet again it hurt. Everything still hurt, muscles aching and limbs stiff. Probably still his body fighting the venom, but after another day lying in bed with a nagging headache, he was getting sick of just doing nothing. He didn't even know to describe his headache. It felt as if it was floating, this never ending dull feeling while his brain tried pushing itself out of his skull.

He began stirring, watching himself being eaten by a whirlpool of liquid carrots. He looked so skinny, no wonder his father tried to stuff as much food down his throat as humanly possible. But he couldn't complain, he actually was quite hungry, and even if his father's soup was bland and every other dish he prepared was terrible, he was glad for something to actually fill his stomach, even if it left him sick afterwards.

The worst part was that he couldn't even draw without messing things up by shaking too much. He hated it, unable to draw and afraid of wasting any of his precious ink, leaving to stare at a black sheet of paper. He tried to move around the house before, forcing his muscles to loosen up a bit, but his father would just push him back into bed again.

He would always look so scared, like he would fall apart with just a gust of wind.

Not that he didn't know why, he was smart enough, even though his father obviously thought he wasn't. He knew. About how the bruises kept spreading, appearing across his chest and creeping up his arm, leaving his skin numb and insensible. And about the black scales pushing their way out of his thicken black skin, making the bandage, who his father wrapped only tighter around his chest, red of the continuing flow of blood gushing out of his skin.

And he was scared, but somehow people seemed to forget that. He didn't like the worried look Gothi gave him when examining the cold scales covering his chest, the place the dragon bit him and probably the source of this strange infection. Or the constant glances his father would give him, that he despised most of all, like he suddenly cared. He didn't before. Was almost being ripped apart by a Night Fury all he had needed to earn his love. He wasn't able to hold back a snort.

He was just scared, scared of the visions of his father dying or himself when he pushed him out of the way. Scared of regretting his life and not standing up for himself. He was scared of the pain running through his veins, silently waiting only to strike again without warning, of not know what was happening in his own body. Of the uncertainty which had taken over his life.

And his father could pretend as much as he wanted, forcing himself to smile the sweetest smile possible, but he could never convince him to believe things were all going to be alright. They didn't know, nobody did, something really terrible could still be going on.

He glanced at his father, seeing him pick restlessly at the bandage wrapped around his left arm while his back turned to him. Another lie, he hated how his father tried to hide things obvious from him. Maybe he wasn't the greatest Viking of all, nor did he make the cleverest remarks. But he was neither blind or clueless. He could see the devastated look in his father's eyes as they both came to understand he could never use that arm again, not at its fullest at least.

It is strange, how someone could feel so personally responsible some something he had no control over.

The weather had worsened, dark grey clouds covered up the sky, shielding off the town from any possible ray of sunshine, casting a bleak atmosphere over the empty streets of Berk. He sunk away further into the bed, looking soberly at the increasingly bad weather, there was a storm approaching. His father knew too, and so did they village as they grew more restless every passing minute.

A heavy sigh passed his father's lips. Hiccup looked up, quickly gulping down the lukewarm soup, feeling the liquid glide down his throat in one go, holding the now empty bowl, he smiled at his father.

Another sigh, the chair squeaked loudly as it scraped across the floor. The bowl got snatched away from his fingers. Hiccup watched amusing as his father sauntered back to the kitchen, filling the little clay bowl before getting back and letting the bowl drop down his lap again, throwing half of the content on his sheets.

"Here"

He muttered a messy 'thank you', taking another spoon of fluid carrots as he followed his father grab his coat.

"You going out again?" He asked, his mouth full.

"Yeah." Stoic ruffled his hair, rough hands pulling his hair roots slightly before leaving, heavy door slamming shut by the violent wind. Hiccup sighed, watching his father disappear into the gray mist floating around the streets.

He felt his other front tooth which wiggled back and forth with ease. It was almost as if his gums spontaneously let go, leaving him to stare at the piece of white what slowly sunk away into his soup. Again he experienced the familiar taste of iron which he had grown to recognize over the past few days. He let a drool of red turned spit fall down his bowl, clearing his mouth of the taste as he put away his soup. He hadn't had much of an appetite anymore anyway.

How come he began changing teeth so suddenly, he thought he had finally passed that embarrassing era of his life the time he lost his last molar. Thing didn't make sense.

He put his head between his legs, wraped his arms around them before groaning loudly.

* * *

.

_That previous night_

.

"_Just tell me straight, how bad?"_

_Gobber winched, examining the cold pale flesh of his arm, unhealthy yellow shade turning into hot red around the still not fully closed flesh wound. Irritated flesh curved outwards, even if he kept applying pressure to push most of the wound closed. At least the septum was clear, something good for a change. Still, it didn't look so good. No, not at all._

"_You didn't go move around too much, did you?" He asked. Stoic took in a sharp breath._

"_You expect me not to with a delirious child sleeping half the day. There isn't a time when I'm not" He grumped angry, large hand gripping handle his beer glass tightly._

"_Speaking of Hiccup, how's the little lad doing?"_

"_Fine." Stoic said sternly, taking a sip from his beer, white foam sticking to his upper lip._

"_Fine?" Gobber repeated, looking doubtfully at his friend._

"_Yes, fine."_

_Gobber sighed, wrapping the bandage back around his wound, pulling until he could see the white skin turn a slight blue. "Just try not moving it too much, I hate to see that baby coming off." He sighed, wiping his hands off on his pants before reaching over to his mead and taking a large sip from it, swallowing without tasting._

"_And don't go thinking it ain't all so bad, that if you're still able to move that arm of yours it's all okay. Because believe me when I tell you, Stoic, every time you move those muscles they rip ever so slightly, 'till there's nothing left but a thin string and snap. And you won't be able to use it anymore after."_

_Stoic just grumbled "Well, maybe I don't intend to get all healed up again." He growled back, intentionally grabbing his beer with his injured arm, moving slowly but steady as he brought the glass to his lips._

_Gobber chuckled, quickly finishing his own drink before ordering them both another._

"_Unbelievable, those beasts cost me my arm and leg while Hiccup walks off unharmed after that dragon used him as his own personal chewing toy. The gods really must favour him." He chuckled, happily smiling at his friend "He's one lucky kid."_

_Yet Stoic didn't seem to share his cheerfulness, keeping silent the rest of the night, looking ahead grim. Gobber sighed heavily, having no idea what he had done wrong this time and too tired to try to understand._

.

.

"Hiccup?" Gobber asked surprised as he saw the kid walk through the open door of his little shop. He wobbled slightly back and forth, skinny legs being just enough support to hold his weight but had to hold onto the doorframe to prevent himself from losing his balance.

"Hi." He greeted, smiling weakly.

"What are you doing here?" Gobber asked in concern, putting away his hammer and tongs.

"Just stretching my muscles, you know, the usual routine." Hiccup joked, carefully stretching his arms and trying to bend his torso and stiff muscles to touch his toes, only to end up almost falling if it weren't for Gobber to grab a hold of him on time.

"You alright there?" Gobber asked and Hiccup nodded. He helped Hiccup move to the his small table, putting his down on one of his chair before quickly grabbing another one and sitting down himself beside him.

"Thanks." Hiccup breathed, smiling sheepishly as he wiped away some of the sweat of his eyebrow.

"By the love of Odin, Hiccup, you look, uhm, you look - "

"Terrible?" Hiccup finished, looking away as he laughed it off a little, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly "I know…".

Gobber sighed, watching Hiccup shiver underneath the thick layers of cotton and wool, remembering the little effort it had cost him to pull him back onto his feet again. His large green eyes, sunken away far into his eye sockets, looked up at him unsure, casting a dark shadow over his face. Terrible was one way to put it.

"Ah, cheer up little man, at least you're not dead." He said.

"Not helping, Gobber." Hiccup groaned, rubbing his temples tiresome. Gobber noticed a lisp, watching Hiccup talk he saw hole in the front row of his teeth, large enough to easily let his tongue slip through. He was about to make another comment but, he managed to restrain himself and instead sucked in a rather large breath.

"How about some warm yak milk?" He offered finally, pushing himself up off the little table, which creaked miserably under the weight.

"Ah, no, no, you don't have to, really…" Hiccup tried to tell, but Gobber had already gone and turned around the corner "I'm not that thirsty…" He muttered quietly, voice dying out. Looking around a bit bored, he tried to relax a little, resting his head on his hand as he blew a few strands of hair out of his face.

He shivered, feeling the cold wind blow against his back because of the many windows. Moving slightly towards the forge, he held out his hands and he felt the warm waves of air brush against his skin, hot coals glowing a beautiful orange. He felt his lips curl into a smile as he let the comfortable warmth seep into his ice cold hands.

"So, does Stoic know you're here?" Hiccup looked up shocked, seeing Gobber place a small kettle above the coals, other hand holding a plate full of bread and cheese.

"Not exactly…" He admitted quietly. "You know dad."

Gobber chuckled slightly, placing down the plate on the table before sitting down, gesturing Hiccup to take a bite as he himself began eating. Hiccup grabbed a piece of bread and started nibbling.

"I don't understand why he has so little confidence in me, honestly, I know I can take care of myself, I just haven't had the chance to prove it yet."

Gobber raised an eyebrow. "Didn't you just try a little while ago?"

"That didn't count, dad interfered." He explained poorly.

"If your father hadn't interfered, you would be lying dead somewhere in the woods." Gobber pointed out plainly.

"Maybe, no, I don't know, there's just, there was something off about it. I think he was just scared."

"They're nasty creatures, dragons, don't forget that, Hiccup. Sure, some may seem sweet and all, but in reality they're just wild animals, waiting for an opening to attack."

"Maybe this one was different." Hiccup insisted.

"It wasn't. You've even got scars to prove yourself wrong. No, we all do around here" Gobber laughed humorlessly, swinging his hook for hand before Hiccup's face. Hiccup sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, I just thought… forget it, it doesn't matter"

Glancing back at the kettle, Gobber saw a little bit of steam rise from its spout. The temperature seemed about right. Grabbing it by its handle, he thanked the gods mentally for blessing him with his fire-proof hands before pouring both of them a nice cup of milk. There was nothing he enjoyed more.

"Still, I don't get why dad tries to keep me locked up at home all the time , I'm not completely helpless." Hiccup muttered absently, wrapping his hands around the warm cup.

"We've all lost people, you your mother, I some friends and family, and you father did too. Maybe you don't remember anymore, you were still a little kid at the time, but your father and I were quite the trouble-makers, yes, the two of us have had a lot of adventures together." Gobber told, smile playing on his face as he thought back. But as he thought back further his face changed, eyes grim and lost their usual excitement "But then your mother died and his whole attitude changed, he became less fun, you could say."

"I can't imagine dad being, well, different." He admitted softly, playing with his mug before carefully taking a sip. He felt the warm, thick substance glide down his throat with ease, leaving a buttery layer in his mouth as he savored the taste. Yet the regretted it immediately after, milk lying heavily in his stomach and making him feel nauseous. He slowly pushed away the mug as he shuddered.

"Well, yeah, sometimes it gets hard for me, too." Gobber said, starting to smile slightly "Luckily, I skipped that whole phase."

"Cheers to that." Hiccup said dryly.

"Cheers." Gobber repeated, raising his mug in the air slightly before gulping down the last of his milk, relieved to see Hiccup smile back at him, being maybe the first genuine smile he has had seen the past few days, before bursting out in laughter as Hiccup tried to take another sip from his mug, ending up chocking loudly as a result of inhaling a little. He sure loved the kid, he sure did.

* * *

**Sorry you guys for taking so long, I got a little distracted. And again sorry, this chapter was a bit of a filler, wasn't it? I promise the next one will be better, at least I hope.**

**A shout-out to EquinoxKnight0111, Matt, Hamsterjellyman, TheWhisperingWarrior, Randomgirlygirl2, , Foxlight of WindClan and** **SongoftheDarquePhoenix for taking the time to preview. You are the juice that keeps me going. And also for Annabeth for beta-ing me, I appreciate you take the time to keep my story in check even in these tough times. Not to forget everybody who faved and followed, you're all awesome.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

* * *

Another bad day, and just looking at the shaking boy in bed made him feel sick. He gently put a hand on his forehead, feeling the burning hot skin underneath his icy fingers, sweat dripped down his face, making his hair stick to his skin. Eyes looked at him unfocused underneath half-closed eyelids.

Things just didn't seem to get any better. The scales just kept coming, even if he pulled them out, they would just grow back in about two days. Not to mention the pain he would be inflicting on his son; he didn't want to feel that horrible again.

The scales were like a virus; not even a week had passed and the dark skin had already spread up to his jaw and making his left hand turn a sickly black, leaving only a few spots to remain pink. His nails too, roots having turned a dark purple and thickening.

He squeezed Hiccup's hands, forcing a reaction from his son. Hiccup only whimpered softly, jerking his hand from his father's grip as he pulled his blanket over his head, and muttered something under his breath.

Stoic sighed, patting his son on the head on last time before standing up, grabbing the little bucket at the side of his bed in the process. The vile smell of sick made him feel nausea himself so he quickly threw the content out of the window, ridding the room of the awful smell.

He put the bucket back at where he'd gotten it, looking back at Hiccup's sleeping form one last time before sitting down again himself.

* * *

"Uhm, hello Chief, we were just wondering if Hiccup was around?"

Stoic scanned the kids' faces. Honestly, he hadn't expected anyone of them to visit. Hiccup never was one who made friends easily, due to his poor fighting skills, it was difficult for him to fit in. Stoic often caught him being made fun of. He really hadn't expected anyone to show up.

He also didn't know he was glad they did.

"Hiccup?"

Astrid nodded. She looked determined, yet he also detected a hint of nervousness. Fishlegs, who stood beside her, had curious eyes and a tiny notebook clamped in his hand that didn't look much different from that of Hiccup's.

"Not today, he's still sleeping." Stoic told them, trying to get them to leave. He really didn't want to waste his time with the teens, especially as he had just planned to go out and prepare the last few things before the storm went raging through their village.

He didn't really know what to believe, but according to Bucket it wouldn't be much longer.

"Who'sat the door?"

Stoic cursed, keeping himself from shouting back at Hiccup.

Astrid frowned at him.

"Uhm, I think he woke up." Astrid pointed out carefully.

"You're mistaken." He said "He's just, talking to himself in his sleep, he does that often." More noise came from behind him, Stoic glanced back, sure to shield the view of the two from looking in around his broad frame, only to see Hiccup already busy pulling on some gloves and wrapping a thick scarf around his neck, almost tripping in the progress as he let out a small shriek while trying to keep his balance.

"He's been really sick, it's important for him to rest, to let his body recover." He said, raising his voice slightly at the last part and turning his head around to glare at his son, who was busy pulling on his shoes.

"Dad…"

"We really just want to see how he's doing, we'll be gone in no time." Astrid told.

"Yeah, uh, we also found his notebook lying around." Fishlegs piped up from behind, waving the notebook before him. Stoic's eyes widened.

"Where did you get that? !" Stoic exclaimed shocked, snatching the little brown leather book from his hands.

"I'll take that, thank you very much."

Stoic looked down, seeing his son take the notebook from his hands. He had wrapped himself in a variety of layers of cloths, covering up the blackened skin and gleaming scales. Hiccup, however didn't seem to pay him much attention, instead choosing to stare at Astrid, dreamy smile playing on his lips which was hardly visible underneath his scarf.

"Hi." He said softly, raising his hand a bit awkwardly in a small wave.

"Hi." She responded just as awkwardly.

"Well, I'm sure we all really appreciate you stopping by, but Hiccup must really get back to sleep, considering he still has a fever." Stoic said, glaring at his son, trying to pull him back into the house.

"I've slept for three days straight; I would say I've slept plenty." Hiccup said while trying to free himself from his father's grip "Can't they just stay for something to drink or whatever?"

"We just want to catch up a bit, we won't stay long!" Astrid said. Stoic sighed, seeing the eager look on her face. Loosening his grip on his son, he cracked open the door just far enough for the teens to fit through and gestured them to enter. Astrid whispered a soft 'thank you' before slipping in underneath his arm, followed by Fishlegs.

"I'll get the drinks." Stoic told Hiccup, who nodded back. Stoic sighed one last time before disappearing into the kitchen. Hiccup gestured for them to sit down.

"So…" Hiccup began, pulling his scarf tighter around his neck in an attempt to cover more of his skin. "Yeah… thanks again for giving my book back; I was just starting to miss it." Hiccup grinned slightly.

"Yeah, we saw it lying around when we were looking through the woods, next to -" Astrid paled slightly, gulping loudly "Next to the blood."

"Did you kill it?" Fishlegs asked suddenly.

"Ah, uh, no. I, uh, honestly didn't even manage to scratch him, I think. I guess he, uh, it thought I looked tasty, that's all…" Hiccup laughed a bit. "Not that I blame him. Come on, look at me." He joked slightly, but seeing Astrid still worried look made his smile drop again just at fast. "It wasn't that bad really, I'm okay now."

"You sure? Because there was a lot of, you know, _blood_… It soaked everything." Astrid said, still looking horrified "The soil had turned into this horrible black."

"Don't worry, most of it probably wasn't even mine. Dad really went all Viking on him, the dragon that is. You should have seen him, swinging his axe around and such. I almost felt sorry for it, haha."

"So it's true then, you really fought a Night Fury, and you're still alive." Fishlegs said, awed.

"Yeah, I guess I did, kind of." He sighed, wrapping the blanket from the couch around his legs. He growled softly, even if he enfolded himself in thousands layers of wool and fur, he still managed to freeze his toes off. Warmth seemed so far away. "I did manage to shoot it out of the sky, and it was pretty dark and all so kind of hard to aim." He said, smiling a bit cockily.

"For someone as smart as you, it wasn't really clever to go out on your own trying to slay the most dangerous in all of history." Astrid laughed.

"Maybe not, but I got some cool scars out of it." Hiccup grinned.

"Yeah, it's only fun when you do." Astrid added, her smile faltered slightly. "I'm really happy you didn't get hurt that bad. You really scared me."

Hiccup's smile also fell slightly. "Me too."

The kitchen door suddenly flew open, revealing Stoic in the opening. He held a little tray with cups that he let fall down lazily on the table. He had gotten himself some mead while Astrid and Fishlegs had milk, so that left him with a little cup of water. Hiccup looked at it glumly before sighing tiredly.

"Wouldn't want that whole milk fiasco like at Gobber's again." Stoic told him. Hiccup grimaced, thinking back at those few days ago. He knew it hadn't been smart to drink the milk Gobber had put in front of him, and it hadn't taken long after that before he started to see green. His father hadn't seemed so excited when he had to him carry him home on his shoulder, especially as he couldn't keep himself from vomiting all the way back.

"So, what are you kids talking about?"

"Stuff."

"Just stuff?"

"Yeah, just stuff."

Stoic sighed, understanding that his son wasn't willing to say anything more. Sipping his drink, Stoic watched as the kids grew silent. He wasn't entirely sure if it was because of his presence or because they just didn't have anything left to talk about. When he had been fixing their drinks, he could hear them talking quite vividly, but now all the noise had been toned down to quiet slurping. It left him unsure of what to do.

He also didn't really feel comfortable with the teens visiting, and he would love nothing more for them to leave again. Of course he hadn't lied when he had told them that Hiccup was still ill, as long as those damned scales this covered his skin there was no denying it, but he was also scared his son would blurt something out about the scales. He wasn't comfortable yet telling anybody, even Gobber, and he didn't trust his son to keep quiet, he had always loved to blabber on about anything, a trait he didn't know from how he'd gotten.

Not to mention he didn't like the way that boy, Fishlegs, was watching Hiccup. It looked like he was keeping an eye on him, of course he could just be imagining it. There was no way he could know anything. But those eyes, almost squeezed shut by a frown, looked so intense, as if looking for something. It made him all the more nervous.

He glanced over to his son, who looked back at him annoyed. Stoic took another sip of his mead, making himself a bit more comfortable in his seat. He didn't bother to try and light up the situation.

But Hiccup was indeed annoyed with his father, this visit was one of the few chances in two weeks for him to hold a decent conversation with someone and it was almost impossible for him to enjoy it with his father breathing down his neck. He played a bit with the empty glass in his hands, suppressing a yawn as he gave a quick glance out of the window, taking in the weather. It was surprisingly sunny still, warm glow of the sun heating up his skin.

He looked over at Fishlegs, who seemed nervous. Who could blame him, his father had been staring him down the last few minutes. He wasn't entirely sure why, though.

He chose to focus on something else, Astrid. In a honesty, he had already prepared himself for spending the next couple of weeks alone with his father together with an occasional visit from Gobber, imagining the one-sided conversations and endless lectures. He had been bored out of his mind before he even got to experience it all.

But he was extremely glad that Astrid and Fishlegs stopped by, a small change in his routine of throwing up and uncomfortable silence. And he was especially grateful for Astrid visiting. A small blush crept up his face. She was just so beautiful, the way her messy blond hair bushed against her cheekbones and eyes such an amazingly clear blue, like a cool summer day. She was breathtaking.

He found himself staring, and unluckily for him she stared back, eyes meeting for just a fraction of a second. He almost threw his cup into the air out of surprise. It was a good thing he didn't because that would have been a heck a more embarrassing.

He immediately glanced away, feeling his throat close up and his heart pump in his ears. His cheeks flared an even brighter shade of red.

"So, you kids finished your drinks?" Hiccup heard his father's heavy voice grunt.

"Uhm, yeah, thanks." Hiccup said, frowning a little as he handed his father his cup. Stoic quickly snatched away the other cups and piled them up on the little tray, seeming like he was in some kind of hurry.

"Well then, time to go." He told them. Hiccup looked shocked.

"They just got here!" He argued angry, eyes filled with disbelief.

"I agreed to having them for drinks, and they finished those so they should leave now."

"Dad, seriously?" Hiccup said, wanting to scream out in frustration. His father looked at him blankly, lips pressed to a tin line "Come on, we didn't even have the chance to have a proper conversation."

"It wasn't me who kept quiet the whole time" Stoic told him. Hiccup gapped at his father.

"What were we supposed to talk about with you hovering around us like that!?" He shrieked.

"What aren't you able to talk about with your father hovering around you like that?" Stoic said. Hiccup blinked in surprise, looking away.

"N- nothing." Came the quiet respond as he released a defeated sigh. He really didn't understand his father's problem, but he understood his friends' discomfort with his father.

"Point taken." Stoic grumped, switching his attention to his guests, who looked wide-eyed at the two arguing. "You should leave now, I still have some things to do." He told them, looking ready to throw them out.

"But Chief, can't we stay some longer? We'll just be chatting a bit." Astrid asked, clearing her voice while making an attempt to stand as tall as possible. His eyes shifted to Hiccup, who just gestured at her to leave. Fixing her gaze back on Stoic, she jolted up slightly as she felt someone poke her in the shoulder. That someone happened to be Fishlegs, who tried his best to make himself as small as possible as he hid behind her.

"Maybe we should just go, we've still got some training, after all." He whispered to her, glancing nervously at Stoic above her shoulder. This earned him a glare and a not to subtle elbow in the ribs. Fishlegs broke down coughing, clutching his chest. Maybe it was best if he stepped away from a little.

"I don't understand what everybody's making such a fuss about, we're not doing any harm!" Astrid exclaimed angrily, glare not leaving his face as she locked eyes with Stoic. She raised an eyebrow slightly, confused by the whole situation "What is everybody so worked up about?"

"Unfortunately for you, I really don't care." Stoic said through gritted teeth. His fists were clenched into tight balls, stump nails pinching the skin of his palms and knuckles turning white from the pressure.

"Just go," Hiccup said, smiling a small smile at Astrid and Fishlegs "I'll see you tomorrow."

Astrid stiffened, eyes wide and the usual red gloss on her cheeks draining away. Hiccup frowned, smile falling slightly. What was it, did he say something wrong?

"I didn't do that, right?" Astrid finally managed to rasp, pointing a shaky finger at his face. Hiccup wasn't entirely sure what to make of that, hand slowly touching his cheek. Had a scale suddenly popped up? No, he was almost sure it hadn't. First of all, his face hadn't started to itch yet and no skin started to turn black yet. At least there hadn't been that morning.

"What, do what?" Hiccup asked, growing more confused.

"Y - your teeth." Astrid whispered. Hiccup froze, feeling his blood run cold, hand flying up to feel his scarf, only to find it missing. He quickly reached down, pulling his scarf back up, covering his mouth again. Stupidly, he had totally forgotten about most his front teeth being missing; she wasn't supposed the see that.

He had to admit, her punch those few days ago really hurt, causing his jaw to ache for at least a couple days and making his cheeks swell slightly. But there hadn't been nearly enough force to cause his teeth to fall out. He was certain about it.

"What!? No, I – I fell, on the table, with my mouth." He explained awkwardly, mentally slapping himself for the poorly made-up lie.

"What?" She was a bit dazzled, staring at him confused. Hiccup was about to respond when his father move to pick Astrid up, mouth hanging agape slightly. Astrid released a startled yelp, perspective turning upside down as Stoic threw her on his shoulder "What are you doing?" Astrid shrieked in surprised.

"Since you obviously have some trouble leaving, I'm helping you out a little." Stoic told her sternly, not giving more attention to teen. Astrid growled angry, trying to push herself free from Stoic, whose good arm remained locked tightly around her waist.

"Put me down!"

"You too." Stoic said, as he turned around to face Fishlegs, ignoring Astrid's angered screams. Fishlegs looked up, eyes darting around nervously as he fiddled with his fingers a little before following Stoic out the door.

Astrid's struggling increased, hitting around herself mindlessly as she yelled at Stoic to release her. Hiccup winced slightly as he saw her knee connect with his father's stomach, but to his surprise his father didn't even seem to flinch. He mouthed a silent 'sorry' at Astrid, but he wasn't entirely sure she saw between her angry fits.

Not even another word was exchanged as the door closed behind her, sealing her outside. Astrid was enraged that the Chief treated her like a child; he even dared to carry her like she hadn't legs her own to stand on. Dumbfounded, she stared ahead of herself, mind wrapping about what just had happened. Another flare of anger, her blood was boiling again.

_Thunk._

She delivered one firm kick to release some frustration, only she wasn't getting any reaction from the other side which made the whole protest a lost less fulfilling. Huffing, she tried her best to keep herself from crying out again, and walked away. It was the mature thing to do, even though she really, _really_ wanted to punch something at the moment.

"Let's just go." Fishlegs pleaded beside her.

"Shut up, Fishlegs."

Angry footsteps faded away quickly.

"Gee, dad. Thanks again for chasing away the last remaining friends I have, maybe now I finally have the chance to _never actually see them again!_ " Hiccup growled angrily, throwing his hands in the air. His father was giving him another headache.

Stoic stared back at him blankly, arms folded. "You really should be more careful next time."

"Whatever, I'm going to sleep." Hiccup sighed, wrapping the blanket around his shoulders and letting himself sink further down in the chair, back turned to his father.

"I thought you said you weren't tired." He heard his father say. He could almost see the smug smile on his face.

"Yeah, well, I lied."

* * *

_He was back in the forest; the trees were tall, shielding the light of the sun. The cold wind blew through his clothes, sending chills up his spine. He wasn't alone, soft rustling followed him wherever he went, yet he didn't stop looking._

_He just kept on looking, and looking, searching for something important. Something really important. He had to find it._

_It became dark, and somehow the moon managed to light up the woods, revealing a large cliff. A small lake lay in the middle, reflecting the night sky. He fell down._

_There was something else on the cliff, eyes burned in the back of his mind, expecting him to do something. There was a blade in his hand, he held the handle tightly. The feeling of the leather handle reassured him._

_Looking up, he made eye contact with the dragon; its large green eyes looked down at him. It didn't look impending at all, nothing like any other dragon he had seen before, maybe even, friendly._

"_What's your name?" He asked, trying to reach out to its snout, he had a strong desire to learn to know the mysterious reptile._

_The next thing he knows his blade is buried down its neck, warm blood soaks his hand and burns his skin. Its eyes aren't kind anymore, liquid flames pour down its mouth and poison the ground, turning it a bright purple. He tries to pull away, but he's frozen. He can't cry out to anybody._

_Somehow his father has heard him and holds him in an embrace. It reminds him of the time he was younger, a woman's screaming echoes through his head._

_His father isn't there with him anymore, but fighting the large dragon, sky having turned purple. He doesn't like the color anymore._

_The dragon rips him apart until only half of his father remains, the other half dead. He tries to pick up all the parts so Gobber can put him back together again. His father tells him to stop, his touch is hot. He feels sick, he begins to hurl._

_His father throws away the head of the dragon; his one left eye stares down at him in disappointment._

"_I tried." He tries to explain._

"_You're a failure."_

_He tries to grab a hold of him, but his hand still hurts and he misses. His skin is burnt, the black skin crumbles away, he's bleeding, and scales are visible underneath the black skin as it falls apart. He looks up at his father; he's bleeding too._

_He reaches out one clawed hand. His father raises his axe, and it sinks away in his shoulder. He falls down into the lake, it is so cold and dark, the only light remaining is that of the forest burning around him. He can't feel its warmth, drowning in the cold, hard water._

_And somehow he manages to scream, and he continues to scream as he falls down further into the lake, until his throat is raw and his voice starts to crack. He screams in anger and spits fire at the darkness._

* * *

Hiccup awoke screaming, shooting up in his bed. His breathing was ragged, his head pounding, covered in sweat. Flashes of the still fresh dream replayed before his eyes, already fading in the depths of his mind. The world spun around him, he tried to close his eyes, but was overpowered by the images and instead forced himself to watch the ceiling. Sweat ran down his face, dripping down his nose onto the seats. He felt nauseous.

A red glow lit the room, and he carefully shifted in his bed. He didn't remember going upstairs. A sharp pain shook his body. He was getting so tired of being ill. He dug his fingernails into his arm in an attempt for some distraction of the source. Everything was burning up and making it difficult to think straight. He couldn't think.

He tried again to sit up, and succeeded, pushing himself up against the headboard of his bed. He really didn't mind sleeping downstairs. He tried to keep himself from vomiting, one hand resting on his stomach, the other on his damp face, eyes drifting to the window…

Only to see the whole village aflame.

* * *

**Tada, chapter 4. Yay, finally some action. I'm going to write chapter 5 now, so please have some patient. And sorry for taking so long, but I had a social life I had to attend and well, some personal issues. Thanks for Annabeth The Unicorn for betha-ing and till next time. **

**Oh, and of course a shout out to Hamsterjellyman and Foxlight the Dragon Trainer for previewing and everybody else who faved and followed.**


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